


Choice and Consequence

by CreativeSweets



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Bad Ending, Depression, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Hanahaki Disease, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Loss of Trust, Tragedy, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:26:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22207831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CreativeSweets/pseuds/CreativeSweets
Summary: Sometimes, when faced with a choice, it's easier to hide and pretend nothing is wrong.Sometimes, when faced with a choice, the choice is madeforyou.
Relationships: Nohara Rin/Uchiha Obito
Comments: 34
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Anannua](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anannua/gifts).
  * Inspired by [He loves me, He loves me (not)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22186747) by [Anannua](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anannua/pseuds/Anannua). 



> Anannua's fic gave me so many feels, and I had to write them out. So. More Tragic. (Chapter 2 is the "alternative" fix-it chapter.)
> 
> I suppose you can read this without reading their fic first, but it'll make a LOT more sense if you do. (And the fic is really well written! If you clicked here for a cry before feeling better, just go read that fic first!)
> 
> I never thought I'd write Hanahaki Disease fic, but clearly all it took was reading a fic about it that _actually_ made me Feel Things.

Rin promised, _promised_ Kakashi while he, while he _coughed up flowers_ covered with blood as his lungs . . .

Well. Just because she promised not to tell doesn’t mean she couldn’t hold a grudge.

Their team . . . didn’t quite recover after their spectacular failure of a mission. Oh, sure, Sensei went and blew up the bridge, so on paper, yes, their mission was a success.

_But Kakashi didn’t come back alive._

Obito, with his newly awakened sharingan was promptly held hostage behind his clan compound’s walls. _For training_ , they had said. _Bullshit_ , Rin thought as she was turned away for the third time that week.

Of course, she knows that Obito is still an Uchiha, still has clan obligations, but she wants, well, she doesn’t know what she wants. To see her last teammate? To tell him that she wants to spend more time with him? To make sure he’s alright and that he’s not—

Not going to leave her all alone.

Rin’s chest aches.

* * *

Her patience reaches a tipping point when Sen—when _Minato_ winds up as Yondaime Hokage.

She spends the night curled in front of Kakashi’s grave, crying.

But she wakes warmer than she thought she might, and upon fully waking up, turns her head to find her wayward teammate there.

“Obito!” Rin can’t help her exclamation, can’t help but fist Obito’s jacket, can’t help her sigh of relief as her eyes burn with unshed tears.

“Rin.”

Her hands immediately glow green and flatten against Obito’s chest. He sounds _terrible_ and she bites her lip as she attempts to heal a disease that _shouldn’t exist_.

“Rin.”

She just needs to focus; she’s the team healer, yet she couldn’t keep Kakashi alive. Couldn’t keep him from coughing up all those terrible petals, and buds, and, and, and _flowers_. Couldn’t keep Minato from _hurting him_ —

_“Rin!”_

Cold hands cover her own and she cuts off her healing jutsu with a sob. She looks up to see Obito, so haggard that even his smile can’t overcome the dark bruises underneath his eyes.

“Right”—Rin sniffles and rubs her nose on her sleeve, uncaring of the gross mess—“F-Finally let out of that stuffy compound, huh?”

Obito’s smile isn’t as brilliant as, as _before_ , but he still manages as they sit up. It fades a bit as he turns to look at the grave marker.

Rin averts her gaze as Obito coughs.

* * *

In many ways, Rin is glad that Team 7 seems to be relieved of out-of-village missions, given their jounin-sensei is the Hokage.

It means that Obito and her can simply spend time training together.

Alone, most days.

Honestly, Rin prefers it this way. Because this means Rin doesn’t have to pretend that she doesn’t smell the burnt flowers from Obito’s fireballs as they spar. Doesn’t have to force herself to call _him_ ‘Sensei’. Doesn’t have to deal with others trying to fill out their team.

They _were_ a good team. With Kakashi.

Most days find Rin sitting next to Obito, hugging her knees to her chest as Obito lays with his hands behind his head and staring up at the clouds. It feels—not _normal_ —but at least predictable. Stable. Then Obito starts coughing and Rin hugs her knees tighter to her chest.

* * *

The first petal that Rin coughs up takes her by surprise.

She quickly stuffs it into her pocket and continues to lay out the blanket and bento she made for Obito and herself with shaky hands.

* * *

It’s been only two days since she last saw Obito, but she’s desperate enough that, when the Uchiha guards turn her away, she sneaks in over the wall.

She must look pitiful enough that, when Obito’s younger cousin Shisui spots her, he simply grabs her and shunshins them to Obito’s house.

He says nothing, and Rin’s tired enough to not care that he sees her cough up rose buds outside the front door.

It’s quiet, inside the house.

“He’s upstairs.”

Rin nods, already moving and not trusting her voice to respond. She’s not followed, and she’s rather thankful about that fact when she finally reaches Obito’s room.

Of course it’s messy. Of course there’s knick-knacks all over.

It’s so . . . so _Obito_.

“Ah, Rin.”

In lieu of responding, she crosses the room and pushes his shoulders when he tries to rise. It’s clear that he’s not been eating, not been sleeping, either.

And the flowers next to his bed are damning.

Rin sniffles as she intertwines her fingers with Obito’s, fighting the urge to cough.

“Don’t cry, Rin”—Obito squeezes her hand—“May I see your smile?”

_One last time_ , Rin hears.

So she sniffles again, wipes her face as best she can and puts on her softest smile for her last teammate, the boy who she seems to have fallen in love without knowing it.

“There we go . . . ”

“Obito—”

“Do you think,” Obito interrupts her, his gaze sliding off her face to look at the ceiling, “Do you think he’s waiting?”

Rin doesn’t need to push any chakra to confirm what she can feel in the slackness of the hand she’s holding.

Her composure only holds long enough for her to close his eyes, and then she’s sobbing, sobbing over her last teammate and when the full, red rose bloom comes up, she cups it in one hand, whispers her confession to it, before placing it on Obito’s chest.

Rin places her head on Obito’s shoulder before closing her eyes with a single, long sigh.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just because it's the fix-it chapter, doesn't mean there still isn't ANGST.

After . . . After the mission, Rin finds herself wandering around the village more and more during her mandatory free time.

Alone.

With Sensei—no—with _Minato_ newly appointed Hokage, and Obito stuck behind the Uchiha compound walls . . .

She’s alone.

Alone enough to spend most of her time in front of Kakashi’s grave. Some days, yelling at him for being so _stupid_ and not letting her help him, others, crying silently because _she couldn’t save him_ and _she’s not going to be able to save Obito, either_.

It’s after one of these nights spent sniffling, wiping her tears away as she curled up in the fresh dirt that marked Kakashi’s grave, that Obito finds her.

Of course he does.

Like he _always_ does when Rin isn’t feeling well.

Ah, she spent the night in the graveyard again.

So she accepts his jacket as the chill from spending the night doesn’t leave her despite the rising sun. Accepts his bright smile despite the way she _heard_ him cough as they turned away from the grave of their late teammate. Accepts the steaming cup of tea he shoves in her hands despite her not being completely aware that he was even _carrying_ them.

Rin looks at Obito filling the air with his typical chatter as the sun barely starts to color the sky, and feels her heart ache for her remaining teammate.

* * *

It’s on another, regular day of training where Rin _knows_ it’ll just be her and Obito that it happens.

She’s spreading a blanket down for the bento she made because Obito is still Obito and therefore still _late_ when she coughs and a petal is in her hands when she pulls her hand away.

She stares down, disbelieving and wondering just _who_ she apparently is in love with, since she doesn’t remember falling in love with anyone.

But that’s not really true, is it?

“Hurts, doesn’t it?”

“Obito!” Rin looks up, hand reflexively clenching the silky petal to hide it against her chest. She didn’t realize she was staring at it for that long!

Obito has such a, a _wry_ look to his face that Rin’s never seen before.

“You should tell them.”

“What?”

“That”—Obito gestures vaguely to her hand, and the enclosed petal—“Rin’s so nice and pretty, they’d be stupid to say no to you.”

“They like someone else.” Rin hears herself say—blurt out—because she hadn’t meant, that’s not what she—

Obito sighs and Rin feels a stab in her chest because they really _are_ in the same boat, huh?

“And how do you know?”

“W-What?”

“How do you know _for sure_ that they like someone else?”

Rin hasn’t seen Obito’s face this determined since _that mission_.

“It’s _you_.”

Obito’s shocked face makes her realize _just_ what she said and she’s quick to backtrack.

“That’s not—I’m sorry!”

“Wait, Rin—”

“I know that you loved K-Kakashi, and I don’t even know when this actually happened—”

“Rin—”

“And if it were up to me you wouldn’t know, because I don’t want to force you or make you feel bad—”

“Rin!”

Rin winces and ducks her head at Obito’s shout.

Obito says nothing as he steps closer, as he holds out a hand.

“Show me?”

Rin’s fist is shaking as she stretches it out towards his open palm. His hands are warm as they gently help uncurl her fingers, and Rin’s breath hitches as Obito carefully brushes his fingers over the bright red petal.

“Because of me?”

Rin bites her lip and nods.

“I thought you liked Kakashi?”

Rin’s head snaps up. “It was just a, a fading crush, clearly . . . ”

“Ah, my bad, my bad, Rin-chan!” Obito rubs the back of his head.

It hits her that this feels, feels almost _normal_.

“So you wouldn’t mind if I did this, then?”

Obito’s lips press against hers with surprising softness and Rin squeaks a bit as she feels her face heat up.

Not like Obito’s face is much better when he pulls back, a large grin lighting it up further.

“Why?” Rin clears her throat, because as nice as that felt, as light as her chest was—“If it’s because of the petal . . . ”

“What? Oh!”

Rin takes a deep breath, because Obito is still Obito, and no matter the fact she’s _in love_ with the big idiot, she still needs _patience_.

“About that, well. Hmmm, how should I explain?”

“Perhaps just start from the beginning?” Rin suggests slowly.

“Right! Well, you know I was, well, was in love with Kakashi, right?”

“Yes, Obito, I know this.” Rin shakes her head fondly.

“It . . . wasn’t just him I loved. Love? Was coughing up flower petals for.”

Rin stares at Obito, because . . . “What?”

Obito flails, and Rin giggles despite her confusion.

“I, uhm, you too.”

“What are you trying to say, Obito?”

Obito looks up at the sky, because he’s _embarrassed_. “I was coughing up flower petals since I met you!”

“But—”

“Kakashi’s flower petals were always _white_. Rin-chan’s flower petals are purple.”

“Purple?”

This time, Obito tips his head back down to look at Rin directly, and a hand comes up to cup her face, a thumb rubbing along one of her markings.

“Yes. Purple.”

“Oh.”

Obito places a kiss on her other marking and Rin realizes with a start.

“But your buds have all been purple, recently!”

Sheepish and Obito go hand-in-hand, and Rin feels like smacking him.

She settles for a roll of her eyes and another kiss, the first of hopefully many, many more.


End file.
